Batteries are used to store and provide electrical power for aircraft, ground vehicles, personal electronic devices, and other electrically-powered devices. A battery can have a positive terminal or electrode and a negative terminal or electrode. Then, a “load” or device that draws power from the battery, can be connected via electrical conductors, such as wires, electrical contacts, and/or cables, to the positive terminal and the negative terminal in an electrical circuit. The battery can then operate in a discharge mode while providing power to the load. To charge the battery, a source of electrical power can be electrically connected to the positive terminal and the negative terminal in an electrical circuit, and the battery can operate in a charge mode to “charge” or draw and store power from the source. In some applications, as batteries used in vehicular and electrical power systems, the battery can be connected to one or more devices that can act as both a load and a source of electrical power to the rest of the car. While the car is being started, the rest of the car can act as a load to draw power from the car battery. After the car has started, an alternator and/or regenerative braking system of the car can act as a source of electrical power to charge the battery.
In some cases, batteries can fail due to environmental conditions, faults in the construction and/or design of the battery, physical damage to the battery, and the (gradual) deterioration of chemicals by the battery to store and provide current. These faults can lead to electrical open circuits, where no power is provided to the circuit, and/or battery internal electrical short circuits, where a path of low electrical resistance within the battery is created. A short circuit can lead to an unexpectedly large amount of power being provided to a component of an electrical circuit, including but not limited to, a battery in the electrical circuit.